Wedding Receptions at the Phipps Tennis Pavilion Weekdays

Procedures | Cancellations | Maximum Capacity | Catering | Rental Periods | Alcoholic Beverages | Dancing & Music | Guest Behavior | Rental Rates | Equipment Included | Tents | Fine Print | Typical Timeline | Return to Wedding page

Following are the policies and procedures, which govern the use of the Phipps Mansion for weddings and wedding receptions. Although somewhat lengthy, they are designed to facilitate the very best celebration and at the same time protect our unique facilities and our local neighborhood.

Procedures

The reservation process consists of three easy steps:

1. If the date you request is available, you will be given a reservation form to complete.

2. Once we receive your reservation form, we will send you a user agreement in the mail. You have 30 days from the date on the user agreement to return it to us with your signature and a deposit of at least 50% of your total rental fees.

3. The final payment is due 30 calendar days before your event.

Please Note - If several clients request the same space for the same time and date, the client who made the first request will be given 24 business hours to sign and return their contracts with a 50% deposit or the space will be given to the client who placed the next request.

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Cancellations

All payments are non-refundable. This includes your deposit and all subsequent payments.

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Maximum Capacity

The Phipps Tennis Pavilion is restricted to a maximum of 250 persons, which includes guests, children, and the wedding party. This is done in an effort to accommodate the interests of the surrounding neighborhood, to insure the safety of your guests, and to protect the physical facilities from damage. Under no circumstances can the Phipps Tennis Pavilion accommodate more than 250 persons. In the event that your guest count exceeds 250, we will not be able to admit the additional guests.

• 100 persons theater style on gallery level for ceremony.
• 80 persons on gallery level for seated reception.
• 250 persons on court level for ceremony or seated reception.
• 250 persons in outside garden for ceremony or seated reception.

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Catering

With the exception of the month of December, you have the option of using either our in-house caterer, Phipps Catering, or any licensed, insured catering firm. In December, the only caterer permitted is Phipps Catering.

Each catering firm is required to sign an agreement with the Phipps Conference Center and the University of Denver which outlines the expectations for catering firms while conducting business on the premises. We can provide you with a list of caterers who have already signed this agreement if needed.

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Rental Periods - Weekdays

Wedding Receptions

The rental period for wedding receptions is a total of seven and one half hours - five hours of guest time for the wedding reception and ceremony (if applicable); one and one half hours prior for set up by caterers, florists and other reception preparations; and one hour following the reception for caterer and florist clean up.

Wedding Ceremonies and Rehearsals

You are welcome to hold your ceremony, at no additional charge, during the four-hour rental period. Ceremonies are held in the outside courtyard or inside the pavilion, we are unable to host ceremonies in the formal garden area. Due to commitments to either earlier or later events, additional guest time is not available. An optional one-hour rehearsal is available for a small additional charge. Rehearsals for weekday weddings are held on the afternoon prior to the wedding. If you elect to hold your rehearsal at a location other than the Phipps Tennis Pavilion, we are pleased to provide you with diagrams, which will assist you as you make your plans.

You will be able to arrive one and one-half hours prior to the beginning of your guest time to dress and to have photographs taken. Your catering staff will take the responsibility for the physical setup of the chairs for your ceremony.

Additional Setup Time

Due to logistical issues such as cleaning, staffing, and conflict with previous events, we are unable to provide additional time for setup or photography.

Specific Operating Times

• Tuesday - Thursday, 10:00am - 10:00pm (any five hour guest time can be selected).
• In the event that a client chooses a four hour period of time that would then make the scheduling of another event prior to or following the scheduled event possible, the Phipps Conference Center reserves the right to schedule the second event. It therefore may not be possible to change the specific time of your wedding reception after you have submitted your reservation form.

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Alcoholic Beverages

Alcoholic beverages, which you supply, may be served to guests who are twenty-one years or older and must be served by a twenty-one year old employee of your catering staff. Under no circumstances will guests under the age of twenty-one be allowed to consume alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages cannot be served during the last half-hour of the guest rental time nor can they be consumed prior to the guest time. When a ceremony is held in conjunction with a wedding reception, alcoholic beverages cannot be served prior to the ceremony, but may be served immediately after the ceremony. The bar will close without a last call.

A bar may be placed at the top of the stairs to the south of the Tennis Pavilion Courtyard for the service of alcoholic beverages during the first hour of your reception. Because the formal garden area is shared with guests from the Phipps Mansion, that bar must be immediately and completely removed at the end of the hour or as your guests are seated for your meal service, whichever may come first.

In the event that in the judgement of the Phipps Conference Center staff there has been an inordinate amount of liquor consumed that could result in either physical injury or property damage while guests are at or driving away from the Conference Center, our staffs reserve the right and have the responsibility to suspend liquor service to all guests for the balance of the rental period.

Any alcoholic beverages which you plan to serve must be delivered during the scheduled set up time and removed immediately following your reception.We do not have the capacity to store alcoholic bererages at the Conference Center. Due to the potential for property damage, the use of keg beer is prohibited at the Phipps Conference Center.

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Dancing and Music

Dancing is permitted on the court or gallery of the Phipps Tennis Pavilion. Dance floors are required if dancing is planned on the court level of the Tennis Pavilion. It is not possible to have dancing outside in the courtyard area of the Pavilion. RECEPTION MUSIC (with the exception of string quartets) CAN NOT BE PERMITTED OUTSIDE OF THE PHIPPS TENNIS PAVILION DUE TO THE RESIDENTIAL LOCATION OF THE ESTATE. If amplified systems are used inside the facility, speakers must be placed well away from the doorways and windows. Music must be scheduled to end 20 minutes prior to the end of the guest time. So as to insure that the firm with whom you wish to contract for your music has in the past complied with our policies, we are forced to require that you receive permission from our offices prior to contracting with your musicians.

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Guest Behavior

It is the intention of the University of Denver that social events at the Phipps Conference Center should be genteel with guests demonstrating a conservative decorum. If you feel that your guests might not comply with that expectation, we would recommend that you not consider our facilities for your reception and allow us to recommend alternate reception sites.

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Rental Rates

Guest count includes guests, children, and the wedding party

Wedding Receptions

• May 15th through October 15th - Summer Rates
• October 16th through May 14th - Winter Rates

Wedding Rehearsals

An additional fee provides for an optional one-hour rehearsal on the afternoon prior to the wedding reception. Please contact our office at 303.871.3442 for rehearsal costs.

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Equipment Included in Rental Fee

• 250 White Folding Chairs - Outside Use
• 250 White High Backed Garden Chairs - Inside Use Only
• 32 5' Round Tables for Outside Use
• 32 5' Round Tables for Inside Use
• 6-6' x 2' Banquet Tables

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Tents

Tents are allowed in the courtyard of the Tennis Pavilion. With the assistance of the professionals at Butler Tents we have allowed the placement of permanent tent anchors along the south, east, and west perimeter of the courtyard. The anchors are placed to facilitate the installation of 40' wide tents and are at locations which are compatible with the tents provided by Butler ents, Securing a tent at locations other than those of the permanent anchors must be accpmplished by using water barrels. The installation and removal of tents takes several hours above and beyond your contracted rental period. If that installation and removal can be scheduled during normal business hours at times which do not interfere with other events, there will be no additional charge for that set up time. In the case that installation and removal must take place at times other than normal business hours, there will be additional fees assessed. Tent rental companies other that Butler Tents are permitted to use the permanent anchors

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Fine Print

The piano at the Tennis Pavilion can not be moved.

The use of fireworks is illegal in Denver County and not allowed on the Phipps Estate.

Additional charges will be assessed for unusually heavy cleaning or damages following a wedding reception. Your guests are not allowed to throw birdseed or rice at the Phipps Estate and your guests must be sensitive to our facilities and neighborhood if they plan to decorate your car for your departure.

The Phipps Tennis Pavilion is a non-smoking facility (smoking outside is permitted).

Birdseed, rice, flower petals, or confetti may not be thrown anywhere at the Estate. A popular alternative is to provide your guests with small containers of bubbles to be blown at you on your departure (outside only).

Helium filled balloons can not be allowed inside the court area of the Tennis Pavilion. This policy has been established so as to protect future clients from balloons, which have become entangled in the trees and ceiling structure of the building. In addition, descending balloons interfere with the security systems in the building.

The Phipps Tennis Pavilion is decorated in the spirit of the Christmas Season. It will not be possible to remove Christmas decorations during that period of time for individual events. Christmas decorations will be in place between late November and the end of December.

CHILDREN - Due to the value of the furnishings of the Estate as well as the delicate nature of landscaping, it is imperative that parents take the responsibility for the CONTINUOUS supervision of their children. Many wedding parties have found that they can both protect the Phipps facilities as well as provide a more worry free experience for their guests, if they hire professionals to supervise the activities of children while at the Estate.

Your reservation time begins at the time specified on your contracts. No one including guests, vendors or yourself may be on the property any earlier than that time. We do keep our doors locked prior to events so that there is an opportunity for us to clean and set up tables, chairs, etc. If you feel that early arrivals might be an issue, it would be our suggestion that your wedding invitation states a specific starting time for your reception rather than announcing that the "reception follows the ceremony."

The formal garden areas between the Phipps Mansion and Phipps Tennis Pavilion are for the enjoyment of all Estate guests and are not exclusively included in the rental of either the Mansion or Tennis Pavilion. The Conference Center will do its very best to maintain this area in good order; however, since weather conditions can greatly affect the day-to-day condition of outside garden areas, no guarantee is made either implied or expressed as to the condition of the garden area on any given date.

The court area of the Tennis Pavilion is constructed with a vaulted glass roof, which provides rich natural lighting during daytime events. Due to this construction, it is impossible for us to control light levels during daylight hours. In addition, during the summer months, especially on days in which there is minimal cloud cover, it is quite possible that the interior temperatures on the court level can become uncomfortable, and it is our recommendation that you only plan to utilize the inside court level as backup to the outside in the case of inclement weather.

The awning at the Pavilion is installed on approximately May 15th and removed on approximately October 15th, the dates may vary slightly year to year depending upon weather conditions and sub-contractor schedules - please check with us for specific dates.

Person or persons responsible shall and does hereby indemnify and save harmless the University of Denver (Colorado Seminary) from and against any and all claim, loss, damage, suit, or judgment arising out of or resulting from the use and occupancy of the Denver University campus, properties, and facilities by the person or by the person's family, guests, or service personnel, including without limitation any property of the University of Denver which may be damaged or stolen.

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Time Line

To summarize many of our policies, following is a typical time line for a weekday wedding and reception. This time line is presented as illustration, as each wedding and reception, being a most individual celebration, will vary somewhat in the area of the timing of catering and music.

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